WASHINGTON — Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington, said that a porn addiction puts one in grave spiritual danger, words that starkly contrast with those of a German priest who recently contradicted Pope Francis by saying that connecting porn to the demonic is a “spiritual exaggeration.”

“A pornography addiction, like any serious sin, is an opening to the demonic,” Msgr. Rossetti told CNA in an email interview Wednesday. 

“It is never a good thing to exploit people as sexual objects, which the porn industry does,” he added. “A porn habit can be an open door to escalating sexual dysfunction." 

Msgr. Rossetti, 71, has spent 30 years working as a licensed psychologist. A priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, he has been an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington for over 15 years. He is the founder and president of the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, a ministry that specializes in healing for those in need of deliverance, which operates out of the archdiocese.

The exorcist’s clarity on the dangers of pornography echoes Pope Francis’ recent warning to seminarians studying in Rome. 

“Dear brothers, be careful of this. The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” the Holy Father said to hundreds of seminarians Oct. 24.

“And if from your cell phone you can delete this, delete it, so you won’t have temptation at hand. And if you can’t delete it, protect yourself properly so you don’t have access to this. I tell you, it weakens the soul,” he said.

“The devil enters from there. It weakens the priestly heart,” the Pope said repeatedly to the men.

Following Pope Francis’ comments, a German priest, Father Hermann Backhaus, in an interview with Katolisch.de — the news outlet of the Catholic Church in Germany — said that connecting porn to the demonic is a “spiritual exaggeration.”

In the interview, Father Backhaus also warned against “the somewhat dirty connotation” that is attributed to the term “pornographic.”

Father Backhaus claimed that “there are positive effects of explicit sexuality in relation to the couple” such as “making their love life become more alive.”

He added that for celibate people, “the consumption of explicit sexual representations can have a relieving effect, it can’t be denied.”

He said that “the clergy, religious, and other people at the service of the Church generally have experience with pornography.”

He disagrees with the pope regarding his assessment that “the devil enters through there” and added that “associating the devil with pornography is a very strong statement.”

In contrast, Msgr. Rossetti cautioned against the use of pornography for any reason.

“A pornography addiction can destroy marriages. A porn addiction can distort a person’s sexuality,” he told CNA.

“A pornography addiction not only seriously harms the user, it supports a billion-dollar industry that exploits people, especially women and children,” he added.